


the land past redemption

by Meatball42



Series: Rare Pairs [107]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Bechdel Test Pass, Crush at First Sight, F/F, Not Canon Compliant, Un-fridging women
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-10-19 16:27:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20660210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meatball42/pseuds/Meatball42
Summary: Dora got a second chance to do things right. No one said it was going to be easy.





	the land past redemption

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ashling](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashling/gifts).

The Stark facility was in the middle of nowhere. A lot of research labs were in deserts, Dora told herself.

She told herself that her kids wouldn’t miss her for the next six months before her probation let her visit them. She told herself that the other employees wouldn’t know… how she came to be here.

Oh, they definitely knew.

No one spoke to her. She was led to a lab at the far end of the complex. People in the halls watched her and whispered.

Dora let them. She knew she didn’t deserve forgiveness, or kindness. Her assigned project was laid out for her: important, innovative work, at the cutting edge of physiological research! And she knew she should be grateful, but as she settled in, she just felt… empty.

At the end of her first week, her lab door beeped. Dora looked up in surprise as a women entered. She had long brown hair and big brown eyes that found Dora and—oh, she looked angry.

The woman strode over. Dora expected yelling, finally, someone to berate her for her actions the way she’d been expecting, but instead, the woman thrust out her hand.

“Maya Hansen,” she said. “Doctor. I meant to introduce myself earlier, but I got kind of… focused on a project. You know how it is.”

Dora took her hand hesitantly and received two solid shakes.

“I’m sorry for the way everyone’s treated you,” Maya continued. “They should know better. Nobody’s working here because they have clean hands.”

Dora flushed.

“I yelled at some people. Hopefully they’ll get their heads on straight. Want to get lunch at the cafeteria with me?”

“Sure,” Dora said weakly, and Maya led the way.

Dora let herself be dragged. She knew already that she’d let Maya take her anywhere.


End file.
